Yes, Parker, there is a Santa Claus
by jremme
Summary: Companion piece to 'The True Meaning of Christmas' but can be read by itself. Brennan spends the holiday with Booth and Parker, and says something she shouldn't have. Now she needs to fix things before Christmas. Hopefully, a warm fuzzies fic!
1. December 21

**A/N: I'm a bit behind schedule for this fic and I apologize. That said, enjoy!**

**Yes, Parker, there is a Santa Claus**

**Chapter 1: December 21**

Temperance Brennan was getting irritated. The day had started out well enough. She'd exchanged presents with Angela that morning before seeing her friend leave to visit her father for the holidays. She'd been getting work done when a metaphorical hurricane of Christmas cheer breezed into the lab and interrupted her bubble of productivity.

"Merry Christmas Bones!" the hurricane had proclaimed in a loud voice.

"It's only the 21st," she had mumbled, not looking up from her work.

At her level response, the hurricane downgraded to a strong gale, and had argued, "It's never too early! I have a proposition for you."

That had earned her partner her attention. As it turned out, he had Parker for the holiday thanks to some sick relative of Rebecca's and wanted her to join them for Christmas.

"No," she had said without hesitation. She spent the holidays alone. She had sighed in irritation at the pout he gave her, finally turning away from him to continue her work.

She had heard him mutter, "Scrooge" under his breath and had thought that would be the last she'd hear from him that day unless a case turned up, but she'd been wrong.

By late afternoon, he'd pestered her throughout the day, slowly wearing away her defenses, but she wasn't ready to give in just yet. Christmas was just another day, meant for children and those with families.

"If I continue saying no, will you continue to bother me?" she asked finally.

"Yes."

"And what will it take to get you to stop?"

"Say yes and come have dinner with us tonight."

She considered. Her productivity had been significantly reduced that day since he'd walked into the lab. If she hoped to get anything done in the next few days, she'd better just give in.

"Very well. What time should I be there tonight?"

"Seven," he said, triumphant smile firmly in place. The sudden lack of his pleading left her ears as well as his open to other conversations and they both picked up on Hodgins' and Zach's. It appeared that Zach wanted Hodgins to join him in Michigan for Christmas.

"So, you'll come?" Zach was saying.

"I didn't say that," came the reply. Brennan smirked. Hodgins was going through the same thing she was.

"You shouldn't be alone for Christmas Hodgins; no one should."

Maybe Zach had a point. Perhaps being alone wasn't the healthiest thing in the world. Spending Christmas with Booth and Parker could be fulfilling.

"Dr. Brennan will be," Hodgins pointed out.

Unable to stay silent, Booth shared his victory with them. "Not this year. Bones has finally agreed to spend Christmas day with me and Parker." He was practically gloating. It made her want to slap the grin off his face. Or kiss him. One of the two. Or maybe both.

She was shaken from her inner thoughts by Hodgins' blue eyes on her, looking for confirmation.

She nodded. "After countless hours of prodding and pleading." She looked pointedly at Booth, whose grin turned sheepish for about a second.

"It'll be fun Bones, trust me. Do you even have a stocking? You can bring it over Christmas Eve and hang it with ours. Then, when you come over the next morning, maybe you'll find something in it from Santa." She shook her head. He was far too excited by the prospect of Christmas. One would think he and Parker were the same age, judging by behavior.

"No, I don't have a stocking. And Santa? Booth, you don't…"

"Ok, leaving now. Good night all!" And with that, he turned and left, an annoying and endearing bounce in his step.

Santa. She huffed. A myth and an excuse to lie to children. They deserved to know the truth. She turned her eyes on Hodgins and Zach. Zach was awaiting an answer of his own.

"Just go, Dr. Hodgins," she prompted. Zach looked so hopeful. "I'm sure Zach's family would be happy to have you."

"Fine. Let's get going then," Hodgins said resignedly. "I need to pack before we go. Are you all packed?"

They continued their conversation and Brennan began to clean up her work. Might as well get in a little quiet time before dinner. Zach's voice addressing her made her look up, returning his wave.

"Good bye Dr. Brennan. Merry Christmas!"

"Bye Zach! Merry Christmas to you too. And you, Dr. Hodgins."

A cup of tea and some pages of reading later, Brennan decided it was time to head to Booth's. She pulled on a coat, climbed in her car, and drove off, wondering if he'd been serious about her hanging a stocking. She'd have to buy one first. And then Santa, aka Booth, would put some little gift in it. She found herself grinning at the idea and chided herself for it. She was a grown woman, not some little child who believed in Santa and stocking hanging and all of that nonsense.

What was it he'd called her? Scrooge? Her forehead wrinkled as she braked for a red light. She remembered Scrooge. A literary character devoid of the so called 'Christmas spirit'. She wasn't devoid. Was she? She'd have to make an effort. But indulging in the idea of Santa? Come on! That was just a bit too ridiculous. She could believe in spending time with those you cared about, sharing meals and exchanging gifts, but a magical old man delivering said gifts; to everyone in the world in the space of 24 hours? Temperance Brennan had to draw the line somewhere.

Thirty minutes later, she was seated at a table with Parker on one side and Booth on the other, sipping at a glass of water, and taking nibbles of a very good salad. Parker was predictably as excited about the impending holiday as his father and she found herself getting wrapped up in the boy's enthusiasm. That was until he started speaking of Santa Claus.

She still couldn't believe that Booth hadn't told his son the truth. It was a lie he was perpetuating and that was just wrong. She hadn't thought her partner the type to happily keep Parker in the dark and encourage childhood fantasies that the boy should have outgrown by now.

"How does Santa deliver presents to every kid in the world in one night?"

Aha. Parker had trapped him with a logical question. Now he'd have to give him a logical answer.

"Well, not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas, so he doesn't have to go to every kid. Plus, he only has to visit half the world in one night, cause when it's night here, it's day on the other side, so he actually has 24 hours and that's plenty of time for him."

Parker nodded, appeased. Brennan felt her mouth drop open slightly. Had he just said what she'd thought he said? Feeding the boy more lies? She couldn't stand it anymore; she had to intervene.

"Santa would have to deliver gifts at a rate of 700,000 per second to be able to get to every child in 24 hours. It's impossible. No one could accomplish that, no one who truly existed, that is."

Two pairs of identical eyes stared at her, both expressing disbelief for two different reasons. Booth seemed speechless; Parker, on the other hand, was not.

"So, Santa's not real?" The question was directed at her.

She looked at Booth, silently pleading with her to deny it, to say she was wrong, that Santa did exist. She couldn't though. She couldn't lie to Parker as he had, even if the lie was out of love.

"No, he doesn't."

The pleading eyes of her partner that had irritated her earlier that day closed as his son turned to him.

"You told me he was real! Why did you tell me he was real when he wasn't?" The tears were gathering in his eyes and before they could fall, the little boy pushed his chair away from the table and went to his room. The door slamming caused Booth's eyes to snap open and he glared at the woman next him.

"How could you Temperance? It wasn't your place." He got up and followed Parker's footsteps to the boy's room. As the door closed for the second time, Brennan absorbed everything. His tone coupled with the use of her first name was not good. She reached for her water glass and took a long drink of the cool liquid.

She couldn't go in there with them. She'd been the cause of this, and would only make it worse. She would apologize later when things had cooled down. Although she was sorry for the reaction to what she'd said, she wasn't necessarily sorry for saying it. Was she? Parker needed to know the truth. Didn't he? One thing she knew; she couldn't stay another minute. She stood up, grabbed her coat and purse and left, softly closing the door behind her.

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait. I had intended to start it two days ago, so now things are going to be a little scrunched. The next chap will be posted either Monday or Tuesday with the conclusion on Christmas Eve. It will also only cover three days instead of five like 'True Meaning'. My fault for putting this off. Again, my apologies, and thanks for reading!!**


	2. December 23

**A/N: Nothin' to say except thanks a bunch to those R&R'd and enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: December 23**

All day yesterday Brennan had gone about her work. She and Cam were the only ones who hadn't left town for the holiday and both were ensconced in their offices catching up on paperwork. For Brennan, the going was slow.

She kept looking at the phone or the doors to the lab, waiting for him to contact her, to let her know she was still invited over for Christmas. Nothing. She figured he was waiting for a call from her. The apology she still intended to give, but thanks to her ingrained stubbornness, she wasn't quite ready.

By the 23rd, she decided to go shopping for Christmas gifts anyway. Even if her invitation had been withdrawn she could still give gifts, right? Of course she could. So, early afternoon found her fighting crowds in the mall. She was stumped on what to get for them. After failing to come up with any ideas herself, she called Angela, who had one idea on what she should get Booth.

"Angela, giving myself is not an option!...I don't care if he'd love it…I'm not sure that would be the case anyway…Well, I told Parker there wasn't a Santa Claus."

She held the phone away from her ear at Angela's response. "I know. I've made a mess of it, but I fully intend to apologize and fix this. I just don't know how yet. For the time being, I'm focusing on shopping. Now what do you think I should get for Parker?"

After hanging up with Angela, Brennan called Hodgins for more ideas. He was a man after all, and he'd been a little boy once; therefore he was bound to have ideas on gifts for both.

The signal from Michigan was bad. " Hello, Dr. Hodgins…How is everything with Zach's family?...Good. I need some ideas on what to get Booth for Christmas. Angela was no help at all. She suggested I give him myself, a perfectly ridiculous option. I thought you would have some thoughts since you're a guy."

She listened to Hodgins' weak suggestions. They were all she had to go on though. She asked him about Parker, and tried to tell him what she'd done, but the signal was so poor she was forced to disconnect the call. She'd figure something out herself.

She continued on from store to store, following one of Hodgins' suggestions for Booth, knowing Angela's response to the gift would be "Lame!" She grinned and wished briefly that her friend were here with her. Gift shopping was not her one of her strengths.

After finding something for Parker and standing in a slow line for gift wrapping, she made her way back to the Jeffersonian to finish up the small stack of papers that required her signature. The sky was dark, the lab and Cam's office empty, and she checked her watch as she made her way to her office. Had she really spent that long in the mall? She slumped in her desk chair and began skimming through the type on the top piece of paper.

Five minutes passed before she realized she'd been reading the same line over and over. She glanced at the phone, and took a deep breath. If she didn't make the call, she'd probably have a psychotic episode. She couldn't wait any longer. She grabbed the handset and dialed, tapping her foot against the floor as she waited for an answer.

The answering machine clicked on, and right before she started leaving a message, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's me."

There was a pause, then, "What's up?" He didn't sound mad. She'd been right to allow some time to pass.

"I was just calling…" She trailed off. She didn't want to apologize over the phone.

"Because?" he prompted.

"I wanted to make sure I was still invited before I came over tomorrow night."

"Oh. Of course you are."

"Good. I thought…"

She heard him sigh into the phone. "Look Bones, I'm not thrilled with the way things went the other day. I know you meant well, but that was something Rebecca and/or I was supposed to do. Parker was really hurt." Another pause. "And so was I."

So much for not apologizing over the phone. "I apologize for my words. You're right. It wasn't my place and I had no right. I never meant to hurt anyone. What did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth, same as you did. No way I could disagree with you. You're Dr. Bones after all." His voice held a touch of resentment, which was gone as soon as the next words left his mouth, following a sigh. "He thinks a lot of you. And so do I. It's just that…sometimes..."

She suppressed a grin. "Sometimes I need to keep my mouth shut. I realize that. I hope Parker will be ok."

"He'll be fine. He's tough. This is one of those defining moments. It just hits you; that he's growing up, and he won't be a kid forever." She could now almost see the sadness in his eyes, and it made her feel worse. "The thing is, I wanted him to be a kid for as long as possible, you know?"

Oddly enough, she did know. Being a kid meant being free. No burdens, no worries. The ability to accept perfectly illogical things as fact. She'd had that as a child herself, before that fateful Christmas that had changed her life. Parker deserved to be a kid for as long as he could. And she had to help make that happen. Somehow.

"Bones? You still there?"

"Yes. Did you need me to bring anything tomorrow?"

"Nope. Just bring you."

Lost in thought again, she stared out the window at the night janitor, who was scrubbing the floor in front of the lab doors. He looked so familiar. Suddenly, she was bombarded with images from books, malls, 'Miracle on 34th Street', street corners, a previous case victim, and countless other places. Santa Claus. The old man looked just like a stereotypical Santa. She began forming an idea, but it would require cooperation.

"Hello? Earth to Bones?" Booth's voice broke into her head.

"What?"

"You zoned out on me again. You busy or tired or something?"

"A little bit of both actually. Could I let you go? I need to take care of something."

"Sure. We'll see you tomorrow night."

"Right. Seven again?"

"Yea, let's do seven. See ya Bones."

"Wait a second. Booth?" Sure he didn't _sound_ mad, but she had to make sure. "Are you angry with me?"

"No, Bones. I was irritated sure, but, you were just being you, and I guess if I wanna be around you and do stuff with you, I'll have to accept the risk that is Temperance Brennan. Although, you do need to work on what your mind allows your mouth to say."

She could feel his smile through the phone and she couldn't help but smile herself, hoping he could feel it as well. "I will Booth. I never want anything like this to happen again."

"Remember this conversation when I invite you over for Easter, ok?"

"Most definitely. Bye Booth." She hung up the phone, then practically raced out of her office.

"Sir?" She called to the janitor. He looked up from his mop and she gestured to her office. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if I might speak to you about something. It's quite important."

Brennan left a half an hour later with a smile on her face. Everything was arranged and taken care of. Her smile faded a bit as she realized she now needed to go back to the mall. Ah, well, it would be worth it.

"Scrooge indeed," she said to herself as she drove towards the mall, still quite busy even at this time of night. Thank goodness for Christmas hours, or she'd have to get everything done tomorrow. She still had paperwork that had to be done.

**A/N: Hope that was enjoyable. Next will be the conclusion, which I'll get posted tomorrow. Talk about pressed for time! Thanks for reading everyone!**


	3. December 24

**A/N: Well, here we are, at the end! I wanted to get this up before 'Santa in the Slush' tonight, cause I **_**still **_**don't have season 3 on DVD! Thanks for reading and for putting up with my fast paced updates. I can only hope that the quality hasn't taken a complete nosedive because of it. Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: December 24**

Christmas Eve went by slowly for Brennan. Mostly because she was anticipating that evening. She hoped everything would go smoothly. She'd spent more time in the mall yesterday than she had all year, getting home at an ungodly hour and collapsing into bed, only to get up early and make her delivery before heading to work to finish the paperwork that, for some reason, she just couldn't seem to make a dent in.

Finally, she gave up and did something she rarely did, especially at work. Computer solitaire. It was horribly addicting and seemed to make time go a little faster. The screen began to grow blurry, then faded to black as her eyes closed.

When they opened again, it was due to her cell phone, ringing from its spot on her desk. She flipped it open noting two things. First, the number. It was Booth. Second, the time, displayed on the phone's menu. Her head snapped up. She was late. She jumped up and grabbed her coat while talking into the phone.

"I know. I'm late. I fell asleep. I'm leaving now." She closed the phone without waiting for a reply or saying good-bye. Her plan was set to take place at eight and she had wanted them to be finished with dinner by the time that happened.

Arriving at his building, she grabbed their gifts from the passenger seat, and walked quickly inside. She knocked quickly, and tapped her foot on the floor waiting for it to be opened. Parker answered the door, stepping aside for her to enter and closing it behind her. "Dad's setting the table," he explained, being the little gentleman and taking her coat from her, hanging it over a chair.

Brennan followed him to the kitchen, stopping to place her gifts in front of the tree. She noted the two stockings hanging from a bookshelf and cursed inwardly. She had completely forgotten to buy herself one. Well, there was always next year. She greeted her partner, and took a seat when prompted to do so, shooting him a thankful grin as her eyes took in the spread on the table. He'd gone to a lot of trouble.

After dinner they sat on the couch and talked while Parker sat near the tree, giving his presents a shake or two, and making guesses as to what was inside. Brennan glanced at her watch. A little after eight. Any minute now. She bit back a smile as a knock sounded on the door. She glanced at Booth, careful that her expression didn't give anything away.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

He shook his head and got up, creeping down the hallway and returning with his gun. "Parker, get in your room. Now."

Brennan rolled her eyes in exasperation as another knock sounded. "Booth, if someone was going to break in, do you honestly think they'd knock? It's probably a neighbor or something. It could even be Cam." She smirked when he glanced at the door. She knew exactly who it was. Before he could argue, she stood up and strode to the door, opening it and allowing the old man with the red suit and the bag over his shoulder inside.

She'd been a bit surprised that he had his own suit and bag, but figured that he probably did volunteer work during the holidays.

Booth's eyes shifted from her to the old man and back again. She gave him a knowing smile and gestured down the hall to where Parker had obediently gone to his room.

"Parker! Come out! You're never gonna guess who's here!"

The little boy opened his door. "Is it Grandma and Grandpa? Uncle Jared?"

"Guess again," Booth replied as his son appeared around the corner, stopping short when he saw the old man in front of the tree, emptying out his sack. Parker's eyes went wide.

"Santa?" He looked from his father to Brennan once then looked at the bearded man, who had finished and was now looking at the boy, his eyes dancing merrily. Parker squinted at him, taking in every detail of his face, anything that could tell him that this was someone he knew. Deciding he'd never met nor seen the man before in his life, he stepped closer. "Santa! You are real!" He looked over at Brennan and Booth. "You guys were wrong! Dr. Bones was wrong!"

Brennan grinned. "It does happen on occasion."

'Santa' wished Parker 'Merry Christmas' and winked at Brennan on his way out. Parker raced back over to the tree, going over the new presents and muttering, "I knew he was real. Deep down, I knew it." While the boy was busy under the tree, Brennan heard Booth whisper.

"Where'd you find Santa?"

"Mopping the floors of the lab last night."

"You realize the huge problem I'm gonna have on my hands when I have to tell him the truth."

"Yes, but then at least it'll be _you_ telling him, and that's the way it should be."

He leaned closer to her ear. "Got that right. Thank you Bones." She felt a soft pressure on her temple and realized that he had kissed her there.

"You're welcome," she whispered back, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Can we open presents now? Please? I don't think I can wait til tomorrow! I'll explode!"Parker already had a present in hand, giving his dad a puppy face.

"I don't know. Bones? What do you think?"

"Well, I think I'd strongly prefer it if Parker didn't explode, so right now sounds good."

"All right. Go ahead buddy."

Needing no other encouragement, Parker unwrapped his presents from 'Santa' and Brennan found her smile growing larger and larger with each package as Parker's excitement grew.

"Santa knew just what to get me!" he exclaimed and Brennan thanked the stars for helpful sales clerks. She would have been lost otherwise. That made her a bit insecure about her own gift for the boy. Hopefully, it would meet the same reception as the others. After Parker had opened his present from Booth, Brennan went to the tree and handed Parker the gift from her. He tore it open and looked at it before beaming at her, showing his father the model dinosaur kit.

"Cool! Can you do it with me?" It took her a second to realize he was looking expectantly at her, not at Booth.

"You want _me_ to help you?" she asked.

"Yea, you know all about dinosaurs and stuff, right?"

She looked at Booth for permission. He nodded, grinning at them both.

"Of course. I'll come over sometime and we can do it together." She returned Parker's smile and went to the tree again, this time, picking up Booth's gift and handing it to him.

He unwrapped it and held up a tie. "Thanks Bones. Can never have enough of these. And it's very…sensible and…it's great. Thank you." He smiled at her and put it, untied, around his neck.

"I'm glad you like it. Hodgins suggested it. I wasn't sure what you would want." She grinned back, pleased that he liked it, although she didn't think it was what he expected. What had he expected? She'd have to think about that. She had time before his birthday to figure that out.

"Parker, why don't you get Dr. Bones' gift and give it to her?" Parker retrieved Brennan's present and handed it to her. It was from them both. She opened it. It was a stocking. Red felt with little skeletons glued on it.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Hang it up. There's a hook there for you." He pointed to the shelf and she hung her new stocking up next to theirs, a feeling of belonging washing over her. It felt good. She was about to ask what they should do next, now that all the presents were opened, when Parker's voice called from the tree.

"Dr. Bones! There's another present here, and it's for you. From Santa."

A small frown creased her face. That certainly hadn't been part of the arrangement. She took the gift from Parker. It was a small box. She opened it and a sharp gasp left her mouth, the box and its contents dropping to the floor. Booth reached down and scooped up a necklace with a heart pendant, placing it in her open palm. "Bones? You ok? What is it?"

She looked down at the heart and flicked the small clasp, handing it over to him. Inside the locket there were two tiny photos. One of a girl, one of a boy. Both were smiling. They were obviously school pictures.

Realization dawned and he looked at her incredulously. "You? And Russ?"

She nodded, hands still shaking slightly. "I gave it to Mom for Mother's Day one year. I told her that whenever she wasn't with us, all she had to do was open the locket and there we'd be. She took it with her when she and Dad left. I never knew what happened to it." When it was placed back in her hand, she closed her fist around it, trying her utmost not to cry. What did it all mean? No way the old man could have known or had it in his possession. Unless…no, impossible. Wasn't it? Santa didn't exist, right?

She felt a hand on her shoulder and two sets of eyes looking at her.

"I'm fine." She gave them a smile and put the locket back in the box, putting it in her pocket and taking a few deep breaths. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now we watch 'A Christmas Story'," Parker supplied, taking the initiative and turning the TV on.

"What Christmas story?" Brennan asked, a little confused.

"That's what it's called," Booth explained, then raised an eyebrow at her. "You've never seen 'A Christmas Story?' Triple dog dares, Red Ryder BB guns? 'You'll shoot your eye out'?"

Brennan shook her head.

"Well, you're in for a treat. Get comfy." He settled into the cushion, grabbing a blanket off the arm of the couch. Parker settled in on the other side of Brennan, who found herself scooting closer to Booth to share in the warmth of the blanket, which fit over the three of them perfectly. They were about halfway through the movie when Booth's voice reached Brennan's ears.

"Santa didn't leave me anything. I wonder why?"

Brennan smirked at him. "Perhaps he thought you were naughty this year," she suggested before yawning and resting her head on his shoulder.

"What? No way! He needs to check that list of his more than twice if he thinks that. I'm always good," he protested before putting an arm around her, saying quietly, "Merry Christmas Bones."

And it was. A very Merry Christmas.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Merry Christmas!!**


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